


Just Friends

by Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms



Category: LEGO Monkie Kid
Genre: Best Friends, Childhood Friends, Don't Like Don't Read, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heavy Angst, Hurt No Comfort, I haven't seen season 2 yet so no spoilers, I know that no one ships these two, Sad Mei hours, The Author Regrets Nothing, Unrequited Crush, Unrequited Love, but me and a friend on another site do so I wrote this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 21:02:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29442315
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms/pseuds/Fiona_of_Random_Fandoms
Summary: Mei is MK's best friend. That's all she is. She doesn't mind.No matter how much she longs to hold his hand.Or, the author explores a very unlikely possibility on how Jin and Yin might have assumed that Mei and MK were in a romantic relationship.
Relationships: Qi Xiaotian | MK & Long Xiaojiao | Mei
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	Just Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everybody! 
> 
> I wanted to do something for Valentine's Day. Something that I hadn't seen any other but one writer on here do.
> 
> I'm not gonna lie, I kinda shipped MK and Mei from the beginning, lol. Me and my buddy on Wattpad, who I'll just call Drakkon, just found them so cute, and we have done roleplays based on this little ship for a very, very long time. I know that most people only see them as best friends, but I just really wanted to explore the possibilities, no matter how unlikely they are.
> 
> Besides, has anyone EVER wondered just HOW Jin and Yin came to the conclusion that MK and Mei were a couple? This is pretty much a theory fic, although I doubt it will ever have real evidence, lol.
> 
> This is supposed to be a short story. Like, maybe two or three chapters long. This chapter is going to explore Mei's life before she met MK and then how I think she and MK may have met, and then we'll get to the real stuff later. I hope y'all will enjoy!

For as long as she could remember, Mei was always told that she came from a long line of ancient, noble dragons.

At first, she thought it was really cool. She came from a line of _dragons._ Those were, like, super powerful lizards! When she'd first been told this, she had jumped around in her room, practically buzzing with excitement. 

But, as she grew older, she began feeling the pressure of being the descendant of _the_ Dragon of the West Sea. Her family had a pretentious reputation to uphold, or, at least, that's what she concluded. Being the descendants of literal mythical creatures that were usually shrugged off as creatures of fiction, the Dragon family were infamous for harboring artifacts that were from _Heaven_ itself. Their house was practically a museum, with long hallways, an armory, and portraits of their ancestors practically painted on the walls, and so many other things that Mei wasn't allowed to touch.

But, the artifact that she liked the most, was the Dragon Blade, forged by her 1000x great-grandfather himself, Ao Run. However, her parents didn't want her to touch _that_ , either.

"But, why not?" she'd asked them, sulking as she crossed her arms. "It looks so cool!"

"Because, Mei," her mother said softly, resting a hand on one of her shoulders. "The Dragon Blade is far too old. Not to mention that it is _very_ sharp."

"We just don't want you to get hurt, honey," her father added, gently moving a strand of her black hair off of her forehead and tucking it behind her ear. Mei pouted, huffing. Then, her father's lips lifted upwards, his mustache bristling. "How about this? I'll tell you a legend about the Dragon Blade as a bedtime story."

Mei gasped and nodded eagerly, and raced to get ready for bed. When she got to her room, her father followed and tucked her in the green covers. Mei laid her head on her purple and green pillows, looking at her father with excitement twinkling in her eyes.

Her father chuckled and sat down on the edge of her bed, resting his hand on his knee. "So, ready?"

Mei nodded, her green eyes sparkling.

Mr. Dragon chuckled, and began telling the story of the Dragon Blade.

"The Dragon Blade was forged by your great, great, a thousand more times great grandfather, Ao Run, the Dragon of the West Sea. He embedded _unimaginable_ power into it so our family would always have the strength of the Dragon to protect us. However, it will _only_ show its true power to those deemed worthy; a _true_ member of our clan who has proven themselves strong enough to protect our family from the forces of evil."

Mei gasped, eyes wide. "Did _you_ or Mommy ever wield the sword, Daddy?"

Her father laughed. "Oh, _heavens_ no, Mei. We haven't needed to use the sword for _years_."

The young girl tilted her head, confused. Eyebrows furrowed, she asked, "But then, why do we keep it if we don't _need_ it?" 

Mr. Dragon smiled and rested his palm on his daughter's knee. "Because, my little flower, that sword is a symbol of our heritage, of our family. It's just valuable to our family because of that sentiment. Besides, we have a fairly decent security system. That'll protect us, too."

Mei still had some questions, but she nodded. The sword was important to her family because Grandpa Ao Run had made it. She understood that.

However, she realized that she was incredibly different from her family. When she had walked inside the house covered in dirt, her mother nearly had a heart attack. " _Mei,_ what are you doing?!"

Mei blinked, then looked at the dirt covering her pants. "Oh, I was just playing in the garden, Mommy. I found this _really_ huge bug! It was so cool!"

Her mother's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. "A _bug?!_ Did you bring it into the house?!"

Mei blinked, confused, before shrugging a bit. "Um...no? I was just-"

"Mei, don't get the dirt on the carpet!" Her father exclaimed, stopping her from stepping onto the carpet. His green eyes scanned the dirt on her pants, and Mei could see the disgust on his face. "Mei, you should get a bath. Put your pants in the hamper."

Mei pouted, jutting her bottom lip out. "But, Daddy-"

" _Now,_ Mei. The carpet is expensive, and I'm afraid it isn't machine washable. Besides, you may get germs, and we'll be having a few guests coming over in the next couple of days. I just don't want you to get sick."

Mei frowned, but she shrugged and went to the master bathroom anyway. It wasn't a big deal, though, right? Not everyone liked bugs or dirt. A lot of her female schoolmates sure didn't.

It was fine. Her parents probably just liked for things to be clean.

Right?

* * *

  
  


As time passed, she finally realized just how different she was from her family. Especially when her cousin, Jiang, arrived.

Jiang almost looked bewildered as Mei looked around for bugs with her eyeglass. "What are you _doing?_ "

Mei looked up, and shrugged. "Looking for bugs. Why?"

Jiang's face twisted in disgust, and she looked at her cousin with a flabbergasted expression. " _Bugs?!_ Bugs are gross!"

Mei frowned, as if she was offended on the bugs' behalf. "No, they're not!"

"They are, too! My mom says that they lay a bunch of eggs and get everywhere and stuff! They're nuisances!"

Mei had no idea what that word meant, but glared at her cousin. "What's the big deal? They can't _hurt_ you. Besides, some bugs are actually really pretty."

Jiang wrinkled her nose. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

Mei's stomach dropped, her eyes widening. "What...what are you talking about?"

"You're different. You like to get dirty and look at bugs and be _rough,_ and it's _weird._ "

Mei's face burned, and she suddenly clenched her fists. "I'm not weird."

"Yes, you are! The rest of our family don't like this stuff. We're from a family of _dragons,_ and as far as I know, a _real_ Dragon doesn't get dirty."

Mei didn't think. Her vision suddenly turned green, and the next thing she knew, she had grabbed Jiang by her green and white kimono, and _shoved_ her into the dirt. A screech came from her cousin, resonating through the garden. But Mei didn't care. Something snapped within her chest, something blinded her vision in a green hue, blazing in her veins. Her cousin looked up at her, terrified.

" _Mei!_ " a familiar voice screamed, a hand suddenly reaching out and grabbing her hand, pulling her away from Jiang, who started crying. 

The rage melted away, and suddenly, Mei was surrounded by her parents, who looked worried, and, for a lack of a better word, frightened.

"Mei," her mother said, clearly shocked. "What were you _doing?_ "

Mei blinked, and she looked over her shoulder when she heard crying, and saw Jiang surrounded by her parents, who were fussing over her and helping her up, wiping the tears off of her face.

"I…" Mei said, her voice meek. "I didn't mean to. Jiang called me weird, and…"

"Bohai," Jiang's father said, his eyes filled with rage. Mr. Dragon looked up at his brother, and bit back a sigh. "Jiang could have been seriously _hurt!_ If Mei had let her powers get out of control-"

"P-powers?" Mei squeaked, eyes widening.

" _Bo,_ please," her father hissed. He kept glaring at his brother, until he seemed to calm down, clamping his mouth shut. He then sighed and turned to his daughter, gently placing his hand on her cheek. "Mei, please go inside. Your mother and I will explain everything to you after we talk to your aunt and uncle. Okay?"

Mei wanted answers, but she could feel the tension between her parents and her aunt and uncle in the air, followed by her cousin's crying. She nodded and went back inside, going back inside her room.

As she walked by the portraits of her ancestors she paused, and looked up at them, and, maybe it was just her, but she could have sworn she saw her own ancestors glowering down at her, whispering their disappointments. Mei's heart sank, and she hung her head in shame as she headed to her room.

As the house was so big, practically the size of a museum, Mei didn't know where her parents had taken her aunt and uncle, and she was honestly scared of what they may be talking about. She prayed to all the gods she knew the name of that they weren't fighting. Her uncle could be a bit uptight, as her father had told her, and she hoped her pushing Jiang wouldn't make her uncle so mad he wouldn't talk to them again. He was her father's brother, and she didn't want to ruin their relationship.

But, what about her powers? She looked at her own hands, remembering how angry she had been earlier. Her vision had turned _green._ She remembered that something had flooded through her veins, something _other_ than the rage that had ignited in her chest.

She didn't know she had powers. Mei was very aware that her ancestors had powers, but, there hadn't been a _literal_ dragon in her family's bloodline for generations! How could _she_ possibly possess such abilities? She was a human!

As if on cue, there was a knock on her bedroom door, nearly making her jump. 

"Mei, it's us," her mother said softly. "Can you open the door? You locked it."

Without missing a beat, Mei climbed off of her bed and hurried over to the door, and unlocked it. She stepped back as her mother opened the door and she and her father walked in, just as quickly closing the door behind them. Her mother sat on the bed, while Mei's father just stood, his mustache bristling as he sighed.

"Am I…" Mei said, daring to break the silence, her voice quiet. "Am I in trouble?"

"No, honey," Mrs. Dragon told her, reaching out and pulling her daughter into a hug. "We're just...surprised, is all."

"We've talked with Jiang and her parents," Mr. Dragon said, walking over and wrapping his arms around his wife and daughter. "And Jiang will apologize, but they will be going home since she most likely hurt your feelings."

Mei wasn't sure if that was completely true, but nonetheless, she was glad she wasn't in trouble. However, she couldn't help but feel guilty. "Uncle Bo said something about...powers?"

Her parents looked at each other, as if they were having a conversation that Mei couldn't hear, before her father sighed and suddenly scooped her into his arms, setting her down in his lap as he sat down on her bed.

"It is true, my love," he said softly, looking into her green eyes. "You, like the rest of our family, have powers."

"Does this mean _you_ have powers, too, Daddy?"

He nodded. "Yes. When your great, great five hundred more times great-grandfather, Bái Lóng Mǎ, married a human woman, your great, great five hundred more times great-grandmother Huan, he had passed down his family's abilities to his children and grandchildren, and so on. These powers you definitely have inherited from me, but I was only able to access them as a teenager. I don't know how you were able to summon your inner dragon at such a young age."

"Is that bad?"

"No, of course not, Mei," her mother said, gently holding her hand. "It just means that you are very special. But, if you are not careful, your powers may get out of control. We will do everything to help you, but you must try and do your part in keeping your powers in check. Okay?"

"Okay, Mommy," Mei said, nodding. 

Her father smiled and nuzzled her, making her giggle a little. "Now, let's say goodbye to your cousin and let her apologize to you, okay? We can talk more about this later."

Mei nodded and let her parents guide her to her relatives, feeling _slightly_ more at ease. Still, Jiang's words echoed in her mind.

But it didn't matter. She was still part of this family. She wasn't different from them.

Right?

* * *

Mei giggled, running around with a wooden sword in her hands. Her parents weren't home, and she couldn't resist the opportunity. Even though she was almost a teenager, she still had almost boundless energy, and she seized the opportunity to run around whenever she could.

As much as she loved her parents, they had become a bit stricter after her powers had been discovered. Even though she had multiple classes in school, followed by extracurricular activities, Mei still had so much energy, it could be difficult to control her dragon form, and her powers just in general, and her parents had to lay down a set of strict rules for her to follow, and it often felt restricting.

Despite all of this, Mei didn't want to upset her parents. Quite a few of her family members were pompous, and she often felt like an outcast. Like a puzzle piece that just wouldn't fit in with the rest. She could only truly be herself whenever her parents were gone and when she was in the gaming room, where she could truly unleash her energy.

Sometimes, she didn't really feel at home in her own house. Like she didn't belong.

As if destiny decided to take her only time of peace away, Mei suddenly bumped into a table, and, as if everything was suddenly in slow motion, the vase that had belonged to her great-grandmother, the vase with a dragon on it, the symbol of their family, fell down, and Mei could only watch with horror. She reached out, but it was too late. The vase fell to the floor, shattering into pieces.

" _No!"_ Mei shouted, kneeling next to the broken vase, her hands hovering over the pieces, desperately wanting to fix it, but too well aware of the likely possibility of getting cut. Her heart raced in her chest, and she almost felt sick at the image of her parents walking in and getting angry with her for breaking one of their prized possessions.

 _"We trusted you, Mei,"_ she imagined her mother saying, glaring at her. _"How could you be so_ reckless?"

 _"A Dragon does not_ run," Mei imagined her father's voice saying, filled with disappointment. _"You know how much our family history means to us. Perhaps Jiang had been right. You are_ not _a part of this family."_

Mei's eyes filled with tears, and she couldn't take it anymore. She needed to escape. She needed to just _breathe._

Mei scrambled to her feet, and she bolted down the hallway, and it was like she could actually _feel_ the judging eyes of her ancestors glowering down at her, whispering their disappointments in her directly to her. She wanted to just run. She wanted to get away from the museum she called her house, she wanted to get away from their prestigious reputation just for a moment and _breathe._

She rushed to the garage, filled with all of the amazing vehicles her family had bought over the years, but she was only looking for one. Eventually, her eyes landed on her green bike, with stickers of puppies on it. It was the only real vehicle she owned, but it was precious to her. She went over and pressed the button to the garage door, and once it was opened, she got on her bike and peeled out of the garage and headed onto the streets, which led her to the city.

Mei knew the streets, probably better than most young girls her age. She often took the alleys to get to where she wanted to go, to avoid any sketchy people or potentially any creepy older men. Whenever she went to school she liked to go on her bike, but her father would insist on going with her on his own bike, just to be safe. Mei groaned at the realization that she probably would get in even more trouble when she returned home after she calmed down. Not only did she run around and got a vase broken, but she had made the impulsive choice to go around town _by herself._

She'd be grounded for sure!

Mei sighed. _Well, there's no going back now,_ she thought.

Her parents were still at work, and probably wouldn't be back for another few hours. Even though she knew what fate would be awaiting her when she got home, Mei wanted a taste of freedom from the restrictions of her own home. She thought about where she could go, then remembered a place she and her father had visited a few times.

The Anti-Gravity Arcade. That place had the most amazing games ever! Old, new, it didn't matter. Whenever she needed to release some leftover energy, that was Mei's go-to place. She wouldn't tell her parents this time, of course, but hanging out in that place for a few hours would probably help her forget her worries, even if it would just be for a little while.

Mei trekked her bike through several alleys, until she finally stopped in front of the arcade, and she walked her ride over to a spot where several other bikes were attached to chains, and chained up her bike so it wouldn't be stolen.

Mei looked up and smiled at the Anti-Gravity Arcade as if it were an old friend. Even after visiting the place a few times, the building still amazed her.

The Anti-Gravity Arcade wasn't an incredibly tall building, but it definitely had a lot more room than it looked. It was bright blue and white, with a light that was shaped like a neon purple dragon, its long body stretching out and wrapping around a large section of the building, even the very top of the building, with the dragon's head resting on the far right of the pristine white ledge of the building, seemingly smiling at the people who walked inside.

Inside the arcade were hundreds, if not thousands, of arcade games with the same blue and white theme of the arcade, with blue floors with crooked, golden designs that zigzagged across the floor. Even some of the arcade games had glowing, blue joysticks and buttons for the smaller games! The ceiling had neon lights, which were normally only used during nighttime. They even had a switch, which, true to the arcade's name, would turn off the gravity of the place itself, and let some of the customers fly around!

Some of the teenage employees liked to party in the arcade, and they would pretty much invite anyone who was a teenager to join. Mei hoped that, when she became a teenager herself, that she would get invited to one of these parties someday.

To others, the Anti-Gravity Arcade was just a really cool place to hang out, but to Mei, the arcade felt like her home away from home, a place where she could truly be herself without her troubles back at her house.

And right now, Mei felt like she _really_ needed to let herself loose for a little while.

She approached the doors and grabbed the handles, throwing them open. The sounds of laughter and excited screaming that had been muffled by the doors now flooded into her ears at full volume, and she startled for a moment, not quite used to so much racket, even though she had endured quite a bit of noise in her school. Her home was usually so quiet that it was nearly deafening. However, she steeled herself and went inside.

There were kids around her age, or older or younger everywhere. Some surrounded a couple of adolescent gamers trying to beat each other's high score on some kind of racing game, while another crowd surrounded a dancing game occupied by a couple of kids, who probably weren't getting so much exercise, breaking a sweat. Some little kids were at the prize counter or playing with one of the claw machines, hoping to get some kind of toy they wanted from inside.

Mei felt the tension slowly leaving her body, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Yes. _This_ was home.

As she walked through the rows of arcade machines looking for something to play, she heard a cry of frustration, and turned her head.

There was a boy around her age, with dark hair flopping over his forehead, wearing a yellow shirt with a monkey on it, furiously button mashing on what looked like a new game that had just recently been brought to the arcade. His face fell, and from the noise that emitted from the game, Mei figured that he had lost whatever he'd been playing.

"Dang it!" the boy growled, looking like he wanted to smack or even kick the game out of pure frustration. Mei silently walked over and glanced at the arcade machine's title.

猴子机甲.

 _Monkey Mech, huh?_ Mei thought.

"I don't think button mashing is going to help you win the game, dude." Mei said, and the boy she was standing next to very nearly leapt out of his own skin, looking around, looking absolutely flabbergasted on how she'd crept up on him. She giggled. "Sorry. I saw you having trouble winning this game. Button mashing never really gets you anywhere, though. If your character is moving too fast, then the game might glitch out or you'll just end up getting hit by the final boss anyway."

The boy sighed, resting his cheek against his palm. "I know, I know. I just _really_ want a cool jacket and bandana from the prize counter. It's new Monkey King merchandise, and I really, _really_ like the Monkey King!"

Mei tilted her head, then looked over to the prize counter. Sure enough, there was a yellow jacket with a smiling monkey face on it, with a red bandana in a small plastic bag attached to it. She raised an eyebrow. "It kinda looks like it would be a bit big on you, though."

The kid snorted. "Yeah, I know, but it looks cool, and I feel like I _really_ need the bandana. No matter what my mom does, my hair _always_ gets on my forehead and won't stick up, and I honestly don't want a haircut either!"

Mei giggled a bit at that, before biting her bottom lip for a moment. She _did_ have a few hours before her parents would return home from work…

"Well...why don't I help you, then?"

The boy's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?"

She nodded, offering a small smile. "Sure, I don't see why not. My parents are still at work anyway, and I don't really have anything else better to do."

He grinned, and immediately restarted the game and set it into two player mode, and only then did Mei realize that there was an extra set of controls she could use. "Awesome! Thanks! What's your name?"

Mei hesitated for a moment, before replying. "Mei."

"I'm Mack Kalani, but I also go by MK."

Mei smiled and took hold of her controls. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

"C'mon, MK! You can do this!"

MK groaned, holding his face in his hands. "No, not without you! I can't go on without you, Mei!"

"Yes, you can! Just one more move, and you'll win!"

They had been playing Monkey Mech for a while now, and soon enough they had been able to win tickets to almost get enough to get the jacket and bandana MK wanted. Now MK just had to make the last move against the final boss one more time, and he could get his jacket and bandana. Unfortunately, Mei's character died, so now it was up to him.

MK groaned, then took a deep breath before he hurriedly mashed the button and jiggled the joystick, heavily concentrating on defeating the boss.

"Come on, you're so close! That's it!"

"Oh man oh man oh man oh man-"

"Come on, you're almost there-"

"I'm _trying_ -!"

" _Almost-!"_

The boss disappeared in a flurry of pixels, and both MK and Mei cheered as the tickets began pouring out.

" _We did it!"_ MK cheered, suddenly grabbing Mei's hands and began dancing with her. Mei laughed, allowing herself to dance with him in their victory. After that, the two kids gathered all of their tickets and raced to the prize counter.

The man at the counter looked a little surprised, but smiled as they sat their piles of tickets down. "Which prizes do you want, champs?"

Mei shook her head, pointing at the Monkey King jacket and bandana. "He really wants those."

The man smiled and nodded, taking the tickets and then grabbed the jacket and bandana, and handed them over to the beaming MK, who cheered and danced around in pure joy.

"Oh, this is _awesome!_ " he cheered, before suddenly wrapping Mei in a hug, making her yelp in surprise. "Thank you so much, Mei! Hey, can you help me put the bandana on? I don't think I could do it without looking in a mirror, heh!"

Mei laughed. "Sure!"

MK handed her the bag containing the bandana, and Mei took it out. When MK turned around, she helped wrap the bandana around his head, keeping his spiky hair up, and once she had it firmly wrapped around his head, he slipped on his newly won jacket, and turned to her, grinning hopefully. "What do you think?"

Mei smiled. The jacket _was_ a little bit big for him, and he probably wouldn't grow into it until he was a teenager, but it _did_ look cool on him.

"It looks great."

MK beamed, hugging her again. "Seriously, thank you for helping me. I don't think I would have been able to win these without your help."

Mei smiled and hugged back, feeling glad to have helped him out. "No problem, MK."

He smiled before gently breaking the hug. "You wanna play some more before the place closes?"

Mei opened her mouth to say yes, but then grimaced when she remembered. "Unfortunately, I can't." She rubbed the back of her neck. "I, uh, broke a vase, and, well...they don't really know that I'm gone…"

MK winced, as if sensing her dread, then nodded. "I understand. Maybe we could hang out again whenever you come back, if you want."

Mei smiled at that, and nodded. "Yeah, I think I'd like that. It was really nice to meet you, MK."

He grinned and waved goodbye. "It was nice to meet you too! See you later!"

Mei left the Anti-Gravity Arcade with a giddiness she hadn't felt in a long time. Even if she would be grounded for running around in the house later, she didn't really mind.

She met someone she could actually _be_ herself around.

She made a new friend.


End file.
